Jamie Kermond is Normandy bound Photo: Paul Harding/lewisharding.com
2013 Australian Show Jumping Champion, Jamie Kermond and London 2012 Olympic team reserve, Amy Graham have satisfied the requirements of automatic nomination to the Australian Jumping Team for the 2014 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG).
Graham and Kermond are the top two ranked riders after Australia’s two round nomination series which stared a week ago in Mons (Belgium) with eight shortlisted combinations. The series required riders to compete in a qualifying round and Grand Prix at both the Mons CSI4* and this weekend’s Spangenberg (GER) CSI3* accumulating no more than 20 penalties along the way. As the top two ranked riders at the end of the series, Graham and Kermond join early nominated rider Edwina Tops-Alexander on Australia’s Jumping team bound for WEG.
Leading into the Spangenberg Grand Prix which was held overnight, Graham and Kermond were the only riders still eligible for automatic nomination. Graham had some breathing space with 11 penalties in-hand, but the pressure was on for Kermond who couldn’t afford any jumping penalties as he only had three penalties spare.
Both riders were outstanding among the field of 50 in particular Graham and her mount Bella Baloubet who produced one of 12 clear rounds to progress to the jump off where the pair was clear and fast once more finishing on the podium in third position.
Having already accumulated 17 penalties before starting in Sunday’s Grand Prix, Kermond and his mount Quite Cassini could not afford a mistake and the combination handled the pressure with ease picking up just one time penalty.
Kermond has once been to the World Equestrian Games in 2006 (Aachen) but Normandy will be the first World Championships for 28 year old Graham who is based an hour from the Games precinct
National Jumping Selectors will choose a further two combinations to make up the Australian team of five with an announcement expected shortly.
London Olympians Julia Hargreaves (Vedor) and James Paterson-Robinson (Boris) also contested the Spangenberg Grand Prix with Hargreaves finishing with 9 penalties and JPR with 8.
